Northwestern to pay $3 million in grant-fraud case

Northwestern University agreed to pay $2.93 million to resolve allegations of grant fraud by a cancer researcher, federal prosecutors in Chicago said.

The university allegedly allowed Dr. Charles L. Bennett, then a researcher at its Chicago medical campus, to submit false claims under research grants from the National Institutes of Health, Acting U.S. Attorney Gary S. Shapiro said today in a statement.

From those NIH funds, Bennett was allowed reimbursement for professional and consulting services, plus food and travel expenses for himself, friends and family from January 2003 through August 2010, according to a settlement agreement filed today with U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo in Chicago.